Trying not to flood my own comment box...

To the Monologist, who asked some very interesting questions about my post about Smiting stuff.

1.) "So you’re standing on the battlefield and you’re itching to take revenge,".

That’s a bad thing, and your religion orders you to do no torture, not to act in unnecessary violence, even in battle, therefore curbing your revengeful fury. Revenge is not the purpose behind a righteous fight, it’s the simple and effective putting of your enemy out of commission.

2.) although many religion stories have war stories, they are what they are, stories and myth, but not direct command as "…thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them their fingers".

I’m gonna disagree on this one. The Battle of Badr (about which this verse of the Qur’an was revealed) wasn’t a story, it was documented history, and this is a direct quote from the Qur’an, which tends to be full of direct quotes from God. But if you don’t believe in the Qur’an then that’s a different story. To you is your belief and to me is mine. :)


3.) couldn't you make the streets a battlefield?

Umm, not really. If you mean declaring your own personal battle for the sake of ‘killing infidels,’ then the answer is nope. That’s not battle, that’s vigilantism.

4.) Why would God command another creature to kill another creature?

Can you imagine how safe the world would be if God forbade anyone from killing anyone, ever? Righteous people (thou shalt not kill) would be massacred by the unrighteous (kill kill kill) and religion would die out pretty fast from the world, doncha think?

And what about killing to protect the innocent? A man has been going around bashing people's heads in, do you sit idly by? Is that righteousness, to stand by and let the innocent die?

Rather, it's righteous to be able to kill out of self-defense or in order of punishing murder. Because in the death of the murderer and the aggressor, there is life for the innocent. :)

posted by Abez @ 10/19/2004 02:24:00 AM